Burroughs High sophomore Brandon Aumont, 15, wasn’t comfortable with the idea.
“That’s horrible,” Brandon said. “Why would they have cameras on us? Why would they need to go that far? I mean, it’s a school. How bad can it get?”
Principals at both schools said vandalism on or near campus is not common, and both confirmed that the summer had gone without incident.
When the surveillance camera projects were first approved Jan. 18, each campus was to get 32 cameras, but Burbank High got an extra five to watch over artificial turf on the new field to be laid by September 2008.
The additional cameras boosted the project’s cost $5,294, bringing the total for both projects to $108,020, Colgan said.
Images from cameras at both schools can be accessed only by a handful of top-level district and school administrators along with the Burbank Fire and Police departments.
The cameras, which are installed in places such as main entrances, hallways and in outdoor areas such as the quad, can be used for real-time surveillance, or officials can review footage through the Web as well as an internal network in the district.
Those granted access to view the security camera’s images can access them online, Colgan said.
At Burroughs High, although still in the testing period, the cameras were already up and running Monday, the first day of school.
Burbank High’s cameras should go online in the next week or so with a training session in the next two weeks for both school’s administrators on how to access the surveillance.
“[The cameras] are kind of unobtrusive, which is really nice,” Burbank High School Principal Bruce Osgood said. “We’re very excited to have this kind of capability right now.”
Cameras that look like black orbs about the size of a small orange were tacked up around both campuses Monday as students made their first rounds of the semester down the halls and around common areas.
Burroughs High junior Noel Escobar, 16, remembered a time last year when a teacher’s bungalow was egged.
He also talked about some graffiti on outer walls of the school from last year but said he was still a little “creeped out” by the cameras.
“It’s kind of scary,” Noel said. “People are watching your every move.”
The cameras would most likely not be monitored all day, Colgan said, even though the system could work as a constant surveillance tool.
“You’re not going to be looking at this unless you come in one morning and there is graffiti,” he said.
Nicole Hobson, 14, a freshman at Burroughs, said she understood the need for the cameras and felt fine about their presence.
She added that the only people who should be concerned about the cameras are those who are up to no good. “I think it would be of more concern to people who do bad stuff,” Nicole said.
